Agricultural seeds are often treated with agrochemicals such as insecticides, fungicides, inoculants, and other compositions before planting. The time window for planting—when the weather is warm enough and the fields are dry—is often very short. This means the seed dealer must quickly treat and deliver a high volume of seed to farmers who are ready to plant their fields. These seed treatments are commonly applied by spraying a liquid composition to the surface of seed, which requires a smaller quantity of seed treatment composition than the traditional field application of treatment fluids.
However, seeds may contain dust and debris that interferes with modern seed handling and planting equipment. The dust and debris often contains portions of seed hulls, the outer shell or coating of a seed.
The last stage of treating seeds involves placing the wet, freshly treated seed in a rotating drum that mixes the treated seed, evenly distributes the treatment coat, and allows the treatment solution to dry.